Abortion has been legal in England, Scotland and Wales since 1967. At the time, the legislation was one of the most liberal in Europe. Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Ethnicity... Scotland (Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is a country in northwest Europe and a constituent nation of the United Kingdom. ... Wales - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Europe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

History

Abortion had been historically legal under common law in England, Scotland and Wales. Under English common law, abortions prior to 'quickening' - when the fetus could first be felt to move by the mother - was thought to be morally and legally acceptable. Under Scottish common law, abortion was defined as a criminal offence unless performed for 'reputable medical reasons,' a definition sufficiently broad as to essentially preclude prosecution. Following protests from medical professionals, who worried about the dangers of the procedure and that it was regularly carried out by non-medical personnel, abortion was made a crime in 1803, subject to the death penalty and exile. It later was regulated under the Offences Against the Person Act of 1837, which eliminated the death penalty as a possible punishment, and the Offences Against the Person Act of 1861, which eliminated exile as a possible punishment and made abortion or attempts to "procure a miscarriage" illegal under all and any circumstances. This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... 1803 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offense or a capital crime. ... 1837 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1861 is a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

Of course this did not mean abortions did not occur. While there was a steady increase in the use of artificial contraception, and women were making determined efforts to limit family size (household size, 1891: 4.6, 1931: 3.7), women did find themselves with unwanted pregnancies. Abortifacients were discreetly advertised and there was a considerable body of folklore about methods of inducing miscarriages. Amongst working class women violent purgatives were popular, penny royal, aloes and turpentine were all used. Other methods to induce miscarriage were very hot baths and gin, extreme exertion, a controlled fall down a flight of stairs, or veterinary medicines. So-called 'backstreet' abortionists were fairly common, although their bloody efforts could be fatal. Estimates of the number of illegal abortions varied widely - by one estimate, 100,000 women made efforts to procure a miscarriage in 1914, usually by drugs. Birth control is the practice of preventing or reducing the probability of pregnancy without abstaining from sexual intercourse; the term is also sometimes used to include abortion, the ending of an unwanted pregnancy, or abstinence. ... 1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1931 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... An abortifacient is a substance that induces abortion. ... A laxative is a preparation used for the purpose of encouraging defecation, or the elimination of feces. ... Binomial name Mentha pulegium L. The herb Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium, Lamiaceae), is a member of the mint genus; an essential oil extracted from it is used in aromatherapy. ... Species See Species Flower bud of Aloe Vera Leaf close up Aloe is a genus of plants belonging to family Asphodelaceae, with about 400 species. ... Turpentine is a fluid obtained by distillation from resin obtained from trees, mainly various species of pine (Pinus). ... Gin and tonic This article concerns the beverage. ... 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

The criminality of abortion was relaxed in 1929 when the Infant Life (Preservation) Act was passed. The Act allowed for abortion prior to 28 weeks if necessary to preserve the life of the mother on physical grounds. Social, psychological and other factors were still discounted. 1929 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Psychology (Classical Greek: psyche = soul or mind, logos = study of) is an academic and applied field involving the study of behaviour, mind and thought and, frequently the application of such knowledge to various spheres of human activity, including problems of individuals daily lives and the treatment of mental illness. ...

The Bourne Ruling of 1938 allowed for further considerations to be taken into account. The ruling came from the 1938 case of Rex v. Bourne following an abortion performed on a girl who had been raped. It extended the right of abortion to cover psychological grounds. 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The gynaecologist concerned, Aleck Bourne, later becomes a founder member of the anti-abortion group SPUC (Society for the Protection of Unborn Children) in 1966. The pro-choice group, the Abortion Law Reform Association, was formed in 1936. The shamefulness associated with the examination of female genitalia has long inhibited the science of gynaecology. ... SPUC or the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children is a pro-life organization in the United Kingdom and several other countries. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... The Abortion Law Reform Association is an organisation campaigned effectively after World War II for and the peak of its work was the Abortion Act of 1967. ... 1936 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In 1939 the Birkett Committee recommended a change to abortion laws but the intervention of World War II meant that all plans were shelved. Post-war, after decades of stasis certain high profile tragedies, including thalidomide, and social changes brought the issue of abortion back into the political arena. 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons—the atom bomb being the ultimate. ... Thalidomide is a drug which was sold during the 1950s and 1960s as a sleeping aid and to pregnant women as an antiemetic to combat morning sickness and other symptoms. ...

The 1967 Act

The Abortion Act of 1967 sought to clarify the law. Introduced by David Steel and subject to heated debate it allowed for legal abortion on a number of grounds, with the added protection of free provision through the National Health Service. The Act was passed on October 27, 1967 and came into effect on April 27, 1968. David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood KT PC KBE (born March 31, 1938) is a British and Scottish politician and a Liberal Democrat member of the UK House of Lords. ... National Health Service - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... October 27 is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 65 days remaining. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 27 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

The Act allowed a woman to receive an abortion on any of the follow grounds:

• To save the mother's life.
• To prevent grave permanent injury to the mother's physical or mental health
• Under 28 weeks to avoid injury to the physical or mental health of the mother
• Under 28 weeks to avoid injury to the physical or mental health of the existing child(ren)
• If the child was likely to be severely physically or mentally handicapped.

The Act required that the procedure must be certified by two doctors before being performed. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Ireland

The 1967 Act does not apply to Northern Ireland, where the 1861 Act and the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Act of 1945 are the defining principles. Between 1925 and 1974 there were around sixty prosecutions for abortion under the 1861 Act. Efforts by some British politicians to legalise abortion in Northern Ireland have not been successful due to opposition from both nationalist and unionist communities, uniting the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party, the Ulster Unionist Party, the Roman Catholic Church, the anglican Church of Ireland, the Presbyterian Church and the Rev. Ian Paisley, the leader of the protestant Democratic Unionist Party and moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church. Even the cross-community Northern Ireland Women's Coalition has declined to support a change in the law on abortion in Northern Ireland. Only some of the smaller parties and Sinn Féin advocate the introduction of some abortion into Northern Ireland. Those who are confused by the meaning of terms in this article such as Ulster, (Republic of) Ireland, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom should refer to British Isles - Clarification of Terms. ... The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP — Irish: Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is the smaller of the two major nationalist parties in Northern Ireland. ... The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP, sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or OUP) is a political party in Northern Ireland representing the unionist community, and was the party of government in Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. ... The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian body in the world. ... The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion, operating seamlessly in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. ... Presbyterianism is part of the Reformed churches family of denominations of Christian Protestantism based on the teachings of John Calvin which traces its institutional roots to the Scottish Reformation, especially as led by John Knox. ... The Reverend Ian Richard Kyle Paisley (born April 6, 1926) is a politician and church leader in Northern Ireland. ... The Democratic Unionist Party is a hardline Unionist party in Northern Ireland led by Ian Paisley. ... The Free Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian denomination in Northern Ireland. ... The Northern Ireland Womens Coalition is a non-sectarian political party in Northern Ireland. ... The name Sinn Féin (pronounced in English, in Irish), which means ourselves or we ourselves (not as sometimes incorrectly translated, ourselves alone or we alone) has been applied to a series of political movements since 1905 in Ireland, each of which claim or claimed sole descent from the original...

The Republic of Ireland (see abortion in Ireland) in a referendum of the population in 1983 amended the Irish constitution to give a constitutional right to life to the foetus equal to the right to life of its mother "as far as practicable". Some Irish women seeking abortions therefore travel to Britain for private abortions. Estimates to the number of Irish women seeking abortions in England vary, in the 1990s it is alleged that between 1,500 and 10,000 women who stated in hospital records that they were 'Irish' travel annually. The official figure is 45,000 since 1967. The subject of abortion has had a controversial history in Ireland, and remains a controversial subject today. ... The Constitution of Ireland is the founding legal document of the state known today as the Republic of Ireland. ...

Later laws

Changes to the 1967 Abortion Act were introduced in Parliament through the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. The time limits were lowered from 28 weeks to 24 for most cases to reflect improving medical technology. Restrictions were removed for late abortions in cases of risk to life, fetal abnormality, or grave physical and mental injury to the woman.

Statistics

Post 1967 there was, naturally, a rapid increase in the annual number of abortions. The rate of increase fell from the early 1970s and actually dipped from 1991-95 before rising again. The age group with the highest number of abortions per 1000 is amongst those aged 20-24. Certain sources estimate that one in three women aged 15-45 have had an abortion. This article provides extensive lists of events and significant personalities of the 1970s. ...

In 1995, 89% of abortions in England and Wales were performed at 12 weeks or less and less than 0.5% occur after 20 weeks. 74% of abortions are carried out by the National Health Service in England and Wales and 90% in Scotland. In 1998, 177,871 abortions were carried out in England and Wales, 63 abortions were carried out later than 25 weeks. In 2002 there were almost 185,000 abortions in England and Wales, of which 110 were performed later than 24 weeks. National Health Service - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

Approved methods

Methodology is time related - up to the ninth week medical abortion can be used (mifepristone was approved for use in Britain in 1991), from the seventh up to the fifteenth week suction or vacuum aspiration is most common (largely replacing the more damaging D & C technique), for the fifteenth to the eighteenth weeks surgical D & E is most common. Mifepristone is a synthetic steroid. ... Suction-aspiration abortion is a form of abortion using suction aspiration, taking the fetus out of the womb and usualy taking it apart. ... Dilation and curettage is a gynaecological procedure performed on the female reproductive system. ... Dilation and evacuation is a form of abortion using dilation and evacuation. ...

Since 1967, members of Parliament have introduced a number of private member's bills to change the abortion law. Four resulted in substantive debate (1975, 1977, 1979 and 1987) but all failed. The Lane Committee investigated the workings of the Act in 1974 and declared its support. A Private Members Bill is a proposed law introduced by a member of parliament, whether from the government or the opposition side, to that legislature or parliament. ...

External links

• UK National Statistics Office Abortion Data (England and Wales) - http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nscl.asp?ID=6249
• Scottish Health Statistics Abortion Data (Scotland) - http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/info3.jsp?pContentID=1918&p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show&